GRIZZLY photos have surfaced of Donald Trump's millionaire sons smiling broadly next to the dead carcasses of wild animals that they shot while on a big game hunt in Zimbabwe.

Though the two Americans – Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump – deny any wrong-doing and proudly argue that they are hunters, many animal rights advocates are taking jabs at the pair.

In one of the photos, 34-year-old Don holds the sawed off tail of an elephant with his left hand while firmly gripping the knife that likely cut it with his right hand.

Another particularly jarring photo shows the brothers standing beside a 12'8" crocodile hanging from a noose off a tree.

The pictures were posted on the website for the company that ran the hunting trip to the Matetsi area near Victoria Falls.

Don denied that he leaked the photos over Twitter: “Not a PR move I didn't give the pics but I have no shame about them either. I HUNT & EAT game.”

“I AM A HUNTER I don't hide from that,” he said to another critic on Twitter.

The company, called Hunting Legends, detailed the brother's trip and said that it was not the first time that the Manhattan real estate moguls arranged a trip with them.

Though the pricing for the trip is not publicly available, it was certainly a costly endeavour.

The 2012 trophy fees for each of the animals they shot, and for the Kudu they paid at least $2,795.00 and another $1,997.00 for the Waterbuck they were pictured with.

“The Trumps soon showed their metal and it was evident from the word go that these two amazing young men are everything but the ‘city slickers’ you would expect!” the Hunting Legends site reads.

“They meant business from the outset of the hunt.”

The tour guide went on to say that they had “the precision of a true marksman”.

Don has been diligent about responding to angry comments on Twitter, and argued that their actions were justified because the meat was used to feed hungry villagers.

“I can assure you it was not wasteful the villagers were so happy for the meat which they don't often get to eat. Very grateful,” he responded to one Twitter user.

Their father does not share the views of his sons, and the elder Donald told the TMZ website: “My sons love hunting. They're hunters and they've become good at it. I am not a believer in hunting and I'm surprised they like it.

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“I know that anything they did was 100% OK in terms of the hunting community.”

No regrets ... Eric and Don Trump with a lifeless leopard shot on Zimbabwe safari